


Suledin nadas

by AmethystAxas



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Ill add more tags as they come up, Retelling of Inquisition, Slow Burn, mentions of other relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-18 09:57:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16116056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystAxas/pseuds/AmethystAxas
Summary: Ellana Lavellan was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's how the most shy and introverted Dalish elf in all of Thedas ended up being the leader of a massive force. Essentially a re-telling of Inquisition through the perspective of my Inquisitor.





	1. [One]

Cassandra paced back and forth, again and again, inside the Commander’s tent. Divine Justinia had been away for at least an hour in an attempt to negotiate peace between the mages and templars. Her goal in meeting at the Temple of Sacred Ashes was to remind both forces that they were all united under the Maker and Andraste herself, and although the sentiment was there, she hadn’t seemed too concerned with the peace talks going wrong or with a fight breaking out in the most holy place in all of Thedas. It’s not that the Divine was careless or stupid, it was moreso that she was very confident in things going her way.

“Cassandra, please stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy,” Commander Cullen said with a sigh. Cassandra paused and turned to face the man.

“I am concerned with the peace talks. It has been an hour already with no word back on how things are going, and that stubborn woman refused more than a few guards,” Cassandra replied, frustration laced in every syllable.

“We’re all concerned with the peace talks. Pacing around and ignoring work you could be doing isn’t going to help,” Cullen responded. He wasn’t irritated necessarily, and in his own way, he was trying to help, but Maker, it was frustrating to her to have her worries so quickly brushed aside.

“My options are to pace in this tent or go slash at things with a sword.”

“Then perhaps you should grab your sword.”

She made a noise in the back of her throat and went to turn on her heel when the ground shook slowly for a moment and then intensely, throwing her off her feet and harshly onto the ground. A deafening boom sounded from nearby and everything from the tent, including the tent itself, fell over onto both her and the Commander. The shock of the explosion left Cassandra reeling, laying on the ground as she felt the last small rumbles through the ground beneath her. The ringing in her ears was loud and her limbs shook as she struggled to push herself back up onto her feet. She managed to get out from under the tent and stood up into smoke and ash in the air. Shielding her eyes, she saw flames rising into the sky, rubble still rolling down from the site of the explosion. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to find Leliana standing beside her, eyes narrowed, emotion concealed, but Cassandra felt the fear plunge into her stomach as she realized what had happened. The Temple had exploded with the Divine inside. Her and Leliana wasted no time in making their way toward the site, wordlessly and with bodies still recovering from the shock. At some point Cullen and some soldiers had joined the two in the race toward the conclave. The flames at one point turned from orange to green and then they stood where the meeting was to have taken place with a huge green mass pulsing in the center of the room emanating a blinding light. Cassandra shielded her eyes as the mass grew even brighter and the ground shook as a stream of green shot up toward the sky. Two figures appeared inside the mass, only as silhouettes against the brightness. One remained while one was pushed out of the mass and onto the ground. The mass closed and the light suddenly vanished.

“Who is that?”

Cassandra had no clue who was speaking; her hearing had only returned slightly. All eyes were focused on the figure that had fallen out of the green mass. It was an elvhen woman, definitely unconscious as well as covered in blood spatter, none of which seemed to be her own. A green light pulsed from her left hand and the woman’s brow furrowed but she did not stir. Cassandra turned to Leliana and Cullen who both were staring at this woman with just as much shock and confusion as she felt. There were too many questions with no way to answer them. Was the Divine alive? Had she fled? Escaped maybe before the explosion? What had happened? What was the green mass and the green flames? What had caused the green that spiralled in the sky above them?

Who was this woman and what happened to her hand?

 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Ellana woke slowly with a pounding headache and a throat that practically begged her for a drink. The room she was in was pitch black, her hands and feet were bound, and she was further bound to a chair that had caused her legs to begin to cramp while she was unconscious. She had absolutely no idea where she was or what was happening, but she was terrified. She tried to retrace her steps but everything was hazy. The last thing she remembered was speaking to her clan’s keeper about a hunt, but that didn’t seem like something that had happened as recently as she wanted to remember. Despite her panic, she tried to focus on the facts and ground herself, get in tune with her environment. She closed her eyes, as if that would really do anything since she couldn’t see anyway.

She could feel the chains on her hands and feet, the ones on her feet wrapped around the legs of the chair and the ones on her hands were looped around both wrists and the arms of the chair. Her head was throbbing and her body was sore. She couldn’t tell if the smell was her or the room, but whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant. It was probably both. All she could hear was the dripping of some water somewhere in the room. Despite her sensitive hearing, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the water was dripping or from how far away. It seemed to echo which meant the room was large and empty enough, but that didn’t really tell her all that much about  _ where  _ exactly she was. She sat in silence for a while, trying to think, trying to force herself to remember, but nothing came.

Suddenly, her left hand glowed green and crackled with energy. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the hand and was slowly cutting the inside of her palm. She screamed in pain and attempted to curl in on herself. She couldn’t do anything but scream and pray to any god she’d ever remembered hearing about for the pain to stop. It seemed like eternity before it did, and by that time, she was sweating and tired, and that’s when a door swung open, hurting her eyes with very bright light. In stormed two figures carrying torches. They quickly set the torches into the wall and then turned to face her.

Both tall, human women, they stared at her with cold, almost angry eyes. The shorter one was seemingly shrouded in shadow so her face was more difficult to see, but the taller one was front and center, appearing angrier and angrier by the minute.

“Who are you?” the taller one snarled. She kept one hand on the hilt of her sword, Ellana noted, like she was ready to kill at any given moment. “Speak!” she shouted, stomping her foot down harshly.

“I- My name is Ellana of clan Lavellan,” Ellana replied, her voice coming out hoarse and grating. Neither woman seemed to react.

“What were you doing at the conclave?”

“Conclave?” Ellana replied. She didn’t remember attending any kind of meeting.

“Don’t play dumb,  _ elf _ !” the woman shouted. Ellana frowned and felt anger begin to boil in her as well. Shemlen never failed to disappoint with their disgust toward elvhen people.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking a-”

Ellana was cut off by the searing pain in her hand again, causing her to scream in pain as she hunched over as far as she could. She felt tears stream down her face as she prayed again for the pain to end, even if it meant meeting the end of the taller woman’s sword.

“What is this?!” the woman shouted, grabbing the hand with the mark. Ellana’s response was another garbled cry of pain.

“Cassandra, you’re hurting her. Let her go,” the other woman spoke, finally, stepping forward to place a hand on the taller woman’s (Cassandra, evidently) shoulder.

Cassandra let go of the hand and made a noise of disgust as she turned away from Ellana. The pain eventually stopped, but Ellana felt its phantom sensation in her hand. She was so confused and scared and wanted nothing more than to leave. She didn’t think that was an option, however, seeing as she was still chained and being interrogated. Even afterwards, it wasn’t likely she was going to be released. The other woman stepped forward, taking Cassandra’s spot.

“You said you were of clan Lavellan, yes?” she asked. Ellana looked up at her in an attempt to gauge her intentions. She was met with a stone cold poker face instead.

“Yes, I am,” Ellana replied, uncertain of where this line of questioning was going.

“No Dalish elves were invited to the peace talks. I assume then that you were sent from the clan as a spy, correct?”

“I… I don’t remember, honestly. I tried to remember, but I can’t,” Ellana responded, looking down at the woman’s shoes. Even the light from the torches had become too much for her eyes after that second bout of pain from whatever the hell was wrong with her hand.

“Liar!” Cassandra roared, and the other woman held out an arm to hold her back. “Leliana, she’s lying!”

“Cassandra, please,” the other woman, Leliana, interjected. She sounded very calm and collected. She was certainly more patient than the hot headed warrior. Leliana turned her attention back to Ellana. “What is the last thing you remember?”

Ellana furrowed her brow and tried to focus and concentrate. “The last thing I remember… was speaking to the Keeper about plans for a hunt,” she replied. She knew it wasn’t what either woman was looking for, and it certainly didn’t help her out either, but it was the truth, and that’s all she could offer them.

“So, you don’t remember anything about the explosion?” Leliana asked. Ellana looked up at her then. There was no change in her expression, but her eyes seemed to be searching for answers in Ellana though she had none.

“No, I don’t. Is that what happened to my hand?” Ellana asked. Leliana tilted her head slightly.

“Perhaps the two events are tied together, but there’s no way to know for sure. We have had a mage, an elvhen mage, take a look at your hand, but we have no answers to give you,” Leliana replied, cool as ever. Cassandra, meanwhile, didn’t look as patient as she paced furiously back and forth in the background.

Ellana was quiet and looked down at her hand. There was a glow emanating from what appeared to be a angry green gash across her palm. She felt no pain now, only pulsing that for some reason seemed to be drawing her to something. She tried to ignore it and focus on the questioning so she could leave.

“What use is this if she refuses to cooperate?” Cassandra asked Leliana. She looked pissed, honestly, dark brows pulled down over her light brown eyes.

Leliana said nothing in response, just grabbed Cassandra’s arm gently and lead her out of the room.  _ At least they left the torches behind,  _ Ellana thought to herself.

It wasn’t much later that the door opened again. In walked Leliana, Cassandra, and an elvhen man holding a staff. He approached her with more more ease than the others and knelt down to look at her hand up close. He was gentle with it, gently turning her wrist to look at the mark from different angles. When he was apparently done, he stood up and clasped his hands behind his back.

“It is good to see you awake. My name is Solas,” the man said. At least he’d had the decency to introduce himself and treat her like a person rather than a prisoner, although she did suppose she was a prisoner.

“Ellana,” she replied.

Solas nodded and turned to Leliana and Cassandra. “The mark seems better, but if what you’re telling me about her bouts of pain is true, I believe it is tied to the Breach,” he told the two of them.

“The Breach?” Ellana questioned. Solas turned to her and appeared surprised, then shook his head.

“Ah, right. I suppose you wouldn’t be able to see from in this room,” he replied, then turned to Cassandra. “It’s not my place to say, but I think it would be in your best interest to unlock her and show her why she’s in here in the first place.”

“She knows why she’s in here. She murdered the Divine and created the Breach,” Cassandra snapped, glaring at Solas.

“We don’t know that, Seeker,” he replied, just as calm and collected as Leliana, but less intimidating. “It’s in  _ our  _ best interest to believe her if we have any hope of closing the Breach, which I believe she can do if my theory is correct.” Ellana felt left out but didn’t want to speak up. She was sure it would be explained eventually and didn’t see it necessary to say anything now, especially while Solas seemed to be advocating for her to be able to stand up and by the gods, actually go outside.

Cassandra grumbled something under her breath and stormed up to Ellana, unlocking her chains. She paused between the hands and feet to glare harshly into Ellana’s eyes as if to warn her not to try anything. Ellana didn’t want to. Not soon enough, she was unlocked and allowed to stand. Her knees were wobbly from being on her feet after who knows how long sitting, but she was able to follow the trio outside.

First thing’s first, it was  _ freezing _  outside. The ground was covered in inches of snow and the darkened sky didn’t even offer a tiny bit of sun for warmth. Solas gently turned Ellana to look out and see a giant green mark scarring the sky, not unlike the mark on her hand. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before, and it was massive.

“That is the Breach,” Cassandra said from behind her. “It appeared after the explosion and right as you appeared before us.”

“I don’t remember any of that, I’m sorry,” Ellana replied, unable to look away from the sight. The mark in the sky pulsed and the mark on her hand pulsed in sync with it. Shocked, Ellana looked from her hand to the sky and back again.

“What is it?” Solas asked, looking at her with concern and intrigue.

“When the Breach… when it pulses like that, so does this mark on my hand,” Ellana explained. Solas just stared at her hand with fascination.

“So the mark and the Breach are connected,” he muttered under his breath. He turned to Cassandra and Leliana. “I believe she may be able to close the Breach with her hand, if you’ll allow her to leave the encampment to go.” He spoke to them quickly and definitively, like he had no doubts in his mind that this was the case. He was either very confident or very arrogant.

Leliana and Cassandra exchanged looks and finally Cassandra sighed. “She can accompany us to the Breach, but Maker, someone needs to bathe her,” she replied. Ellana frowned. It was true, but it hurt no less.


	2. [Two]

They even cleaned her like she was a prisoner, giving Ellana almost nothing to clean herself with. Three guards were posted outside where she had bathed in case she’d decided to try and kill them with her no weapons in the nude and run into the snow to die. Instead, she chose to scrub as much dirt and blood off herself as she could and changed into the very basic set of leather armor provided to her. She’d learned she was being held by an organization called the Inquisition, and they had come across her after an explosion blew up the Temple of Sacred Ashes and tore the Breach into the sky. Still, she recalled none of this. She’d remembered more, but not much, just going off on her hunt and getting lost after breaking from the group.

She’d also been allowed to sleep on a bedroll on the floor of the cell she’d been locked in. She didn’t know how much time had passed since the explosion, but no matter how long she’d been out, she was still exhausted and took the offer of sleep instantaneously. She woke up to a door slamming and Cassandra looming over her.

“Get up. It’s time to go,” she boomed. Ellana did as she said and followed her outside and through the encampment. People were gathered and whispering, staring at her. She wasn’t used to so many shemlen in one place.

In her clan, she’d always been a hunter and historian, never partaking in socializing with others. She never went with the merchants into the shemlen towns and never took it upon herself to get too close to settlements in general. She enjoyed being alone and enjoyed never coming back to the clan with stories of racism and prejudice, although she was acutely aware that those stories were true and very commonplace. She knew what they were thinking about her, or at least, part of what they were thinking about her.

“They have decided your guilt,” Cassandra muttered to her under her breath, “they need it.” So it was at least partially what Ellana had thought. She knew already that protesting would get her nowhere at this point. They had no reason to believe her or trust her; causing a scene would do nothing to convince them otherwise. “The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The conclave was hers,” Cassandra continued, trying to quickly usher Ellana along the pathway. They paused on the outskirts of the encampment and Cassandra looked, frustrated and perhaps defeated, to the ground. “It was a chance for peace between mages and templars.”

“Nothing changes overnight,” Ellana cut in before she even knew she was speaking. She regretted it, instantly looking to search for the rage the warrior had displayed yesterday. Instead, there was a sullen look.

“No, it does not. But the Divine had hoped it would be a start,” she explained. Whatever was on her mind, she snapped out of, grabbing Ellana’s arm and urging her to continue moving.

“What exactly happened at the conclave?” Ellana asked. 

“Everyone died in the explosion. Except for you,” Cassandra responded matter-of-factly. Ellana cast her gaze to the ground, feeling almost guilty that so many important people died and a Dalish hunter outcast was the sole survivor. “There is no need to feel guilt. You have a job to do, and you must do it.”

Cassandra was right, but the feeling didn’t go away.  _ The shemlen Divine, the leaders of the mages and templars, likely countless others who rank highly, and I’m the one who walks out of it?  _ Ellana didn’t want to care. She knew that most of her clan would scoff at her for feeling anything other than anger toward the shems for kidnapping her, but she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the people who had lost so much in so little time, looking for anything to pin the blame on. Cassandra led her through large wooden doors to a stone bridge of sorts where many people--mostly soldiers, it seemed--were gathered. They paid them little attention as they made their way to the end of the bridge and through another set of large wooden doors and back onto the dirt and snow.

Halfway up the hill, the Breach crackled with energy and so did the mark on Ellana’s hand. She cried out and fell to her knees, clutching her wrist and pressing her head near to the ground. The pain was unbearable every time it hit her. Once the crackling had subsided, Cassandra helped her to her feet and wordlessly, the pair carried on onto another bridge. The Breach crackled again and sent a blast of green energy directly in front of them, destroying the bridge, killing some soldiers, and sending the living tumbling down onto the ground below. It took a second to get to her feet, but Ellana did so as quickly as she could, finding Cassandra nearby helping a soldier to her feet and ordering her somewhere.

From not far away, a monster emerged out of thin air, gliding toward them menacingly. Ellana shouted and pointed, unable to get words out. Cassandra turned quickly and drew her sword. “Stay behind me!” she commanded, rushing toward the monster. Ellana looked around quickly for something,  _ anything  _ to defend herself with, and found a bow and a few arrows in a quiver.  _ Perfect. _ She put herself in position and pulled the arrow back, waiting for an opening. She found it, seized it, and hit the monster right in its eye. To her horror, the creature barely flinched. The ground seemed to bubble in front of Ellana and she warily stepped back as another creature materialized.

She leapt back in an instant, drawing her bow and firing again. Despite her panic, she was a trained and seasoned hunter.  _ Just think of whatever the hell these things are as just really strange deer,  _ she thought to herself. The thing moved fast, whatever it was, and she found herself leaping back constantly to gain some distance, all the while firing arrows at it until she reached back in the quiver to find it empty. She cursed under her breath and steeled herself to clobber the creature with her bow until Cassandra appeared and slashed the creature in half with her sword, the two halves turning into a mist and evaporating. She glared at Ellana and rose her sword toward her.

“I need this,” Ellana assured her before she could even say anything. “You don’t have to trust me, but you can’t protect me from… whatever the hell those things were. I can defend myself and if I can, I’d like to.”

Cassandra studied her with cold eyes before sheathing her sword. She made a disapproving noise. “You’re right,” she conceded. And that was it. Ellana had expected more dialogue than that, but none came. She scavenged the arrows she could and the pair continued moving.

There were a few more of these things before the two climbed up a hill to find what seemed to be a smaller version of the Breach, a bunch of creatures, soldiers, Solas, and a dwarf. No time to explain, Cassandra merely jumped into action. Ellana hung back and fired arrows and with teamwork, the creatures were gone. Then, with no explanation, Solas rushed over to her, holding her marked hand, and turned it toward the mini Breach. Energy crackled between her hand and the Breach, and while there was no pain, the pressure she felt caused her limbs to shake and her to sweat, even in the blistering cold. There was a hum in the air and the tensions built until a boom sounded and the mini Breach closed. Ellana blinked in confusion. As did Cassandra and the dwarf, she noted.

“What did you do?” Ellana asked, dumbfounded, to Solas. He took a step away from her and looked almost… proud.

“ _ I  _ did nothing. The credit is yours,” he replied. There was silence as everyone processed what had just happened.

“Okay, then what did  _ I  _ do?” Ellana retorted.

“Like I suspected, the mark on your hand is connected to the Breach, and the Fade. This obviously was not the Breach itself, but still, using your hand, you can seal these tears in the Fades we call rifts,” Solas explained. He turned to face the Breach. He didn’t need to say anything, but everyone understood.

“So… there’s a chance to close the Breach after all,” Cassandra finally remarked. Solas nodded and then turned to Ellana, scanning her over.

“It seems you hold the key to our salvation,” he said to her although it felt as though he was scrutinizing every detail.

“Good to know,” a rough, gravelly voice spoke from not far away. Ellana turned to face the dwarf who was adjusting his leather gloves. “Here I thought we were going to be ass deep in demons forever.” Cassandra made a quiet noise in the back of her throat. She seemed to do that a lot. The dwarf strolled up towards the three of them with a grin on his face. “Varric Tethras: Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong.” He winked at Cassandra, and Ellana didn’t even need to look at her to know she was scowling.

The Breach pulsed and Ellana inhaled sharply. The pain wasn’t as bad as it had been, but there was still a sudden, sharp throbbing concentrated in her palm. Solas walked around her and gently took her hand, examining the mark closely, before he held his own hand over hers and cast some sort of magic into it. The pain dissipated almost instantly.

“We should probably continue onward into the valley,” Solas said, still staring at the mark. It made Ellana slightly uncomfortable, but if Solas knew how to heal the mark and theorized correctly some of its capabilities, she wasn’t going to say anything.

“Varric, while we appreciate your help-”

“Forget it, Seeker. Have you been in the valley lately? Your soldiers aren’t in control anymore. You need me.” He cut Cassandra off quickly. She pursed her lips for a moment and then sighed.

“You are right. Don’t make me regret this,” she replied, turning to march off into the valley.

“Too late,” Varric joked from behind Ellana.

On the way to the forward camp, between fighting waves of creatures (which she learned were called shades. She’d never encountered them before), the three of Ellana’s escorts filled her in on the situation. Essentially, the goal was to go to the Temple of Sacred Ashes with the newfound discovery that Ellana’s mark could, in fact, affect the rifts, to close the Breach with the support of Inquisition forces. Varric asked if she was innocent, and she honestly claimed she didn’t remember what had happened. 

“We can’t say for sure if she is innocent or not,” Cassandra had cut in. “We have no concrete proof, just eyewitnesses to seeing her emerge from a rift.”

“I emerged from a rift?!” Ellana exclaimed.

“Yes. I saw you. There was another figure behind you that pushed you out, and you fell unconscious at our feet,” Cassandra replied.

“I don’t see how that equates to her murdering the Divine,” Varric chimed in. There was no response. Ellana was confused, trying desperately hard to remember any of what had just been said. She couldn’t.

They came across another rift, right in front of the doors of the forward camp. This one was dispersed and sealed much faster than the one prior as Ellana was able to seal the rift before an extra wave of shades was able to come through. The doors open and the group walked inside. Cassandra made a beeline to Leliana and some angry man. Ellana followed.

“You made it,” Leliana said as soon as she looked up to see Cassandra and Ellana approaching. She turned slightly to the angry man. “Chancellor Rodrick, this is-”

“I know who she is,” the man spat, glaring at Ellana. She frowned. “As grand chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution.” He pointed his stubby finger at Cassandra who clearly was not having any of this.

“‘Order me’? You are a glorified clerk! A bureaucrat!” Cassandra spat back, equally as angry now. 

“And you are a thug, but a thug that supposedly serves the Chantry,” Rodrick replied, squaring off with her. 

“We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know,” Leliana cut in, attempting to diffuse the situation but still remain in charge and in support of Cassandra. Ellana was hopelessly lost. 

“Justinia is  _ dead _ !” Rodrick exclaimed. He paused to glare at Ellana. “We must elect a replacement and obey  _ her _ orders on the matter.”

“If my understanding is correct, nobody will get to elect anybody if the Breach isn’t closed,” Ellana interjected. She was kind of tired and bored listening to these three fight, and she assumed that it wasn’t going to go anywhere anyway. 

“ _ You  _ brought this on us in the first place!” Rodrick shouted, pointing his stubby finger at Ellana this time. She frowned. 

“What proof do you have?” Ellana asked, crossing her arms. She felt her anger begin to rise in her, ready for a verbal shouting match with this evidently stupid and stubborn man. Cassandra, however, stepped between Ellana and Rodrick and placed her hands flat on the table in front of him.

“We must go to the Temple,” she stated, staring him down. He swallowed and turned away, unwilling now to say anything.

“It would be safer to take the mountain path while our forces charge as a distraction,” Leliana spoke. Her face really never did change, and it was kind of scary to witness.

“We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It’s too risky,” Cassandra replied, turning to look at the mountain path Leliana suggested. She then turned back to face Ellana, her gaze steely. This was tactics now, this was a battle. “How do you think we should proceed?” Cassandra asked her.

“You’re asking me?” Ellana replied, uncertain this was the best idea.

“You’re the one with the mark and the one able to seal the Breach. It is up to you.”

Ellana paused and thought about it. “We’ll charge with the soldiers.”

And then they were actually doing it. Not like she thought they were just asking for her opinion for laughs or anything, but they were actually doing what she said. Shemlen were listening to  _ her _ . 

The way to the soldiers was mostly clear, but the sounds of fighting became evident again not long after. The group made their way to the fighting to see yet another rift opened, spawning shades left and right for soldiers to fight off. 

“How many rifts are there?!” Varric exclaimed as he dropped down and began firing his crossbow at a shade.

“Too many,” Ellana replied, moving across to cover the ground with her bow he couldn’t with his crossbow. The waves seemed endless, but eventually, she recognized a break in them and rushed closer to the rift, holding out her hand and focusing on the mark. The same familiar energy materialized between her hand and the rift, the humming sound of energy grew louder and then finally the rift was sealed. 

“Sealed, as before,” Solas remarked, approaching Ellana’s side. She was shaking again, but she’d gotten to be a little more steady on her feet after sealing the past couple rifts and allowing her body to get used to the feeling. “You are becoming quite proficient at this.”

“Let’s hope it works on the big one,” Varric called out, walking over to join them. They all turned toward the Breach again. It was difficult to ignore it. She was surprised everyone wasn’t constantly staring at it; it was a giant green mark in the sky with floating rocks.

“Lady Cassandra,” an unfamiliar voice spoke. Ellana turned to find a tall human man approaching Cassandra, goo from the shades and other creatures from the rift splattered on his armor. “You managed to close the rift. Well done.”

“Do not congratulate me, Commander. This is the prisoner’s doing,” Cassandra replied, sighing and stepping aside to give the commander a better view of Ellana. He took the opportunity and stared at her. He had a way of making small people feel even smaller with his gaze. 

“Is it? I hope they’re right about you,” he said, taking a step closer to Ellana. He, like everybody else in this mess, was scrutinizing every detail of her from head to toe. He frowned and furrowed his brows. “We’ve lost a lot of people getting you here.” She remained silent, unsure what to say. He sighed and turned to Cassandra to no doubt talk logistics.

“Don’t take it personally, kid,” Varric said, slinking up beside her in the way he kept seeming to do. “Curly’s got a stick shoved so far up his ass, I don’t even know if it can be taken out. It’s probably stuck up there.” That got a giggle out of Ellana. The Commander turned and glared at her while continuing to direct Cassandra. Ellana liked not having to make the big decisions. She was never a leader, and never wanted to be one. Cassandra was much better suited to lead the group, and Ellana would be more than happy to follow, especially if she got to hang out with Varric more since his crude sense of humor was honestly hilarious to her.

“We must go then, quickly,” Cassandra boomed, turning to the group. The Commander’s troops began to run back to the camp.

“Maker watch over you,” the Commander spat, his eyes cold as he stared Ellana down. “For all our sakes.”

She frowned and watched him run off with his soldiers, stopping to help one of the injured. “What did I say about taking it personally?” Varric sighed beside her.

It didn’t take much longer to get to where they were trying to go. Ellana tried to ignore the carnage around her, body parts strewn about and faces twisted into horror and pain. The Breach was massive and terrifying up close. Ellana could only zero in on it while Cassandra and Leliana spoke logistics. She was supposed to close  _ that _ ?!

“Prisoner, let’s go!” Cassandra yelled suddenly, waving her along. Ellana frowned. They kept calling her ‘prisoner’ like she hadn’t told them her name the day before. Just one more shred of disrespect that she should’ve expected from these people.

They began to make their way to the Breach while sounds and voices began to sound from the Breach. Most of it was garbled nonsense, but something made Cassandra stop in her tracks entirely. 

“Most Holy…” she muttered, staring at the Breach with wide eyes. Ellana was about to say something when her voice echoed through the Breach as well. She gasped and stared into the Breach as well, hoping to see something. She saw nothing.

“That was… me?” Ellana was dumbfounded.

“There’s no time to ponder on this, we need to move,” Solas interrupted, gently touching Ellana’s shoulder. She nodded and they continued toward the Breach. Cassandra seemed perplexed, possibly even upset. The voices continued to echo and bounce around, but Ellana’s was gone. Now it was just garbles and screams.

When they reached the Breach itself, there was a bright flash of light and a vision appeared. An old, wrinkled woman was suspended in midair, confused and upset, a dark and shaded figure looming above her. Suddenly, Ellana appeared in the vision.

“What’s going on?” she heard herself ask, looking between the two.

“Run while you can! Warn them!” the old woman pled with Ellana. 

“We have an intruder,” the shadowy figure spoke. “Kill her. Now.” The vision of Ellana backed up with wide eyes, and then a bright flash went off again and the vision disappeared.

There was silence again as everyone paused to take in what they’d just seen. Cassandra, again, was the first to speak up.

“That was you! And the Divine! You must tell me what happened!” she exclaimed, grabbing Ellana by the shoulders.

“I don’t remember any of that!” Ellana replied, scared out of her mind that there was a lapse in her memory so wide that she didn’t remember what she’d just seen at all, even after seeing it play out in a vision.

“Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into this place,” Solas spoke, but it only seemed like he was musing to himself. 

“So the vision is true?” Cassandra asked, turning her attention to Solas immediately.

“Yes, I believe so. The rift is closed but not sealed. It needs reopened to be properly sealed. This will draw attention from the other side,” Solas responded. He didn’t look at Cassandra. He didn’t really look at anybody but turned his attention back to the rift. 

“That means demons. Stand ready!” Cassandra called to the soldiers. Solas turned and walked up to Ellana, gently grabbing her wrist.

“Are you ready?” he asked her. She took in a slow, steady breath and exhaled it before nodding. She was scared shitless, but she really had no choice. If she could help, she would, even if helping meant opening a rift into the Fade and potentially pulling demons through to slaughter people. 

They waited until Inquisition soldiers were in proper place to slowly raise Ellana’s hand toward the rift. The pull on the rift was intense and Ellana nearly fell to her knees, but with Solas behind her, steadying her, she was able to stand until the connection was severed and a flash of green light appeared nearby. Unfortunately, out of the green light, a gigantic monster emerged, chuckling to itself as everyone looked on in horror and fear.

“Well, shit,” Varric said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally meet Cully Wully for real. I haven't been in a very write-y mood lately, but I do have some more chapters written. I'm thoroughly enjoying writing in the Dragon Age universe. I'm also dangerously tempted to write re-tellings for all of my other characters. It would keep me busy for sure, but I would so enjoy getting my precious losers out into the world. I could really have fun with some of my Wardens. Y'know, maybe when DA4 gets closer to coming out, I'll make it a thing to have this be a series, and then when DA4 comes out and I play through that, I could write a re-telling of that as well and have my own little like, canonical series of writings going on. Oooo that would be really fun; I'm gonna do it.
> 
> But thanks for reading!! I so appreciate seeing kudos's and comments and all of that jazz!!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for giving my fic a shot despite my horrible summary! i'm going to school to potentially be a narrative designer in video games but can't write a proper summary lmaooooooo RIP my entire future honestly.   
> this is going to be a v slow burn with our favorite handsome Commander, and i love love love extensive world-building and filling in the gaps not filled in through the OG story.  
> i have the next four chapters written out but i won't be releasing them until i have more written out so the story doesn't just drop dead (like a wonderful billy/rebecca fic i was obsessed with from fanfiction.net :((((( )  
> please leave a comment and kudos if you liked it!! it gives me a kick and motivation to keep writing and it makes my depressed ass super happy lmao


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